The Lurje Schaina and Josephina Memorial Foundation focuses on pragmatic humanitarian relief, Jewish/Israel-linked health and community institutions, and cultural education in New York. Its portfolio mixes large, targeted gifts to crisis-response and medical organizations with meaningful support for arts and local social services, and it shows repeated backing of several favored grantees. The foundation funds both international emergency work and local NYC programs, with an interest in reentry/social-services and civil liberties as complementary priorities.
The largest recent gift in the record is $200,000 to World Central Kitchen, a signal that Lurje Schaina and Josephina Memorial Foundation Inc supports crisis-response work at meaningful scale. Across the recent grants list, the foundation pairs that kind of emergency aid with sustained backing for Jewish medical institutions, New York cultural organizations, and social-service providers serving people reentering community life. Its portfolio is not broad in the sense of many unrelated fields; instead, it returns to a defined set of causes and organizations with mid-to-large awards. In 2025, it gave $100,000 to American Friends of Soroka Medical Center and another $100,000 to the Boris Lurie Art Foundation, showing parallel support for Israel-linked health infrastructure and New York cultural preservation. The record also includes repeated awards to The Fortune Society, Pef Israel Endowment Funds Inc, The New School, City Meals on Wheels, and Police2peace, indicating a pattern of follow-on support rather than one-off gifts. The result is a grantmaking profile centered on humanitarian relief, Jewish communal and medical priorities, and selected New York-based arts and social services.
Humanitarian response is one of the clearest threads in the foundation’s giving. It awarded $200,000 to World Central Kitchen for altruistic support, and also funded The Halo Trust USA with $50,000 in 2023 and $20,000 in 2025. That mix points to interest in emergency food aid and demining-related work. In the Israel-linked health area, the foundation gave $100,000 to American Friends of Soroka Medical Center in 2025 after a $50,000 grant in 2024, and it supported Pef Israel Endowment Funds Inc with $40,000 in both 2024 and 2025. It also backed Friends of United Hatzalah with $50,000 in 2023. For New York arts and education, the foundation gave $100,000 to the Boris Lurie Art Foundation and $50,000 in both 2023 and 2024 to The New School. It also supported The New Fund for Cinema and Television with $25,000 in 2024 and the Museum of Jewish Heritage with grants in 2023 and 2025.
Typical awards cluster in the mid-to-large range, with a p25 of $15,000, a median of $40,000, and a p75 of $50,000. The distribution includes a few larger anchor grants, but many gifts sit at $20,000 to $50,000. The record also shows repeat support across years: The Fortune Society, American Friends of Soroka Medical Center, Pef Israel Endowment Funds Inc, The New School, Police2peace, The Halo Trust USA, and the Museum of Jewish Heritage all appear more than once. The foundation does not fund individuals and does not make program-related investments, so its giving is structured as conventional grants rather than individual aid or PRI activity.
$895K
$17.4M
$811K
$1.5M
Most grants fall between $15K and $50K, with a median of $40K.
25th Percentile
$15K
Median
$40K
75th Percentile
$50K
Sign up for a free Kindora account to access AI-generated insights into this funder's giving patterns, decision-makers, and fit signals.
Get Started FreeFree Kindora accounts unlock side-by-side comparisons with foundations that share this funder's focus areas and giving profile.
Get Started FreeSign up free to see how well your nonprofit fits this funder, get an AI-generated pitch, and unlock similar foundations.
Concentrated, mid-to-large grants with several multi‑figure awards and repeat funding to a handful of core grantees; a mix of domestic (NYC) operating/support gifts and selective international humanitarian/Israel-focused grants.
Notable grantees: World Central Kitchen, American Friends of Soroka Medical Center, The Fortune Society, Boris Lurie Art Foundation, The New School
Grant recipients are overwhelmingly U.S.-based, and 68% of grants go to recipients in New York, the foundation’s HQ state. Beyond New York, the highest-volume recipient locations in the recent list include Washington, DC; Long Island City, NY; and Scarsdale, NY, with additional grants to Sedona, AZ, Teaneck, NJ, Silver Spring, MD, and Palm Beach Gardens, FL. The top state by grant count is Florida, indicating that the foundation’s giving reaches beyond its New York concentration while still remaining regional in scope.
Its recent grants cluster around humanitarian emergency relief, Israeli medical and Jewish communal institutions, New York social services and reentry programs, contemporary art and arts education, and civil liberties. The list includes funding for World Central Kitchen, American Friends of Soroka Medical Center, The Fortune Society, The New School, and Aclu.
Yes. Several recipients appear across multiple years, including The Fortune Society, American Friends of Soroka Medical Center, Pef Israel Endowment Funds Inc, The New School, Police2peace, The Halo Trust USA, and the Museum of Jewish Heritage. That pattern suggests follow-on support rather than only one-time gifts.
Its stated distribution centers on mid-sized awards: p25 is $15,000, median grant size is $40,000, and p75 is $50,000. The recent list also includes a larger outlier at $200,000, along with multiple grants at $100,000 and $50,000.
Recipients are entirely U.S.-based in the recent grants data, and 68% of grants go to organizations in New York, the foundation’s headquarters state. The most frequent giving state by count is Florida, but the recipient list also includes Washington, DC; Arizona; New Jersey; and Maryland.
2026
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2026.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CITY MEALS ON WHEELS | NEW YORK, NY | $60,000 | 2026 | ALTRUISTIC |
| THE NEW SCHOOL | NEW YORK, NY | $50,000 | 2026 | ALTRUISTIC |
| WNET NY PUBLIC MEDIA | NEW YORK, NY | $50,000 | 2026 | ALTRUISTIC |
| AMERICAN FRIENDS OF SOROKA MEDICAL CENTER | SCARSDALE, NY | $50,000 | 2026 | ALTRUISTIC |
| THE JEWISH MUSEUM | NEW YORK, NY | $50,000 | 2026 | ALTRUISTIC |
| HELP USA FUND INC | NEW YORK, NY | $50,000 | 2026 | ALTRUISTIC |
| MUSEUM OF JEWISH HERITAGE | NEW YORK, NY | $50,000 | 2026 | ALTRUISTIC |
| FRIENDS OF ISRAELI FLYING AID | CAPE MAY COURT, NJ | $40,000 | 2026 | ALTRUISTIC |
| PEF ISRAEL ENDOWMENT FUNDS INC | NEW YORK, NY | $40,000 | 2026 | ALTRUISTIC |
| THE FORTUNE SOCIETY | LONG ISLAND CITY, NY | $30,000 | 2026 | ALTRUISTIC |
| BURN ADVOCATES NETWORK LTD | TEANECK, NJ | $30,000 | 2026 | ALTRUISTIC |
| WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN | WASHINGTON, DC | $30,000 | 2026 | ALTRUISTIC |
| THE SALVATION ARMY | NEW YORK, NY | $30,000 | 2026 | ALTRUISTIC |
| BLUE CARD | NEW YORK, NY | $30,000 | 2026 | ALTRUISTIC |
| AMERICAN RED CROSS | BOONE, IA | $30,000 | 2026 | ALTRUISTIC |
| UNICEF USA | NEW YORK, NY | $30,000 | 2026 | ALTRUISTIC |
| HARVARD ART MUSEUMS | CAMBRIDGE, MA | $30,000 | 2026 | ALTRUISTIC |
| GLOBAL SMILE FOUNDATION | NORWOOD, MA | $25,000 | 2026 | ALTRUISTIC |
| PLANNED PARENTHOOD | NEW YORK, NY | $20,000 | 2026 | ALTRUISTIC |
| WORLD FOOD PROGRAM | WASHINGTON, DC | $20,000 | 2026 | ALTRUISTIC |
| THE HALO TRUST USA | WASHINGTON, DC | $20,000 | 2026 | ALTRUISTIC |
| ASPCA | NEW YORK, NY | $20,000 | 2026 | ALTRUISTIC |
| UJA-FEDERATION | NEW YORK, NY | $20,000 | 2026 | ALTRUISTIC |
| MOUNT SINAI HEALTH SYSTEM | NEW YORK, NY | $20,000 | 2026 | ALTRUISTIC |
| REUT USA | WOODLAND HILLS, CA | $20,000 | 2026 | ALTRUISTICALTRUISTIC |
| OPHTHALMICEDGE | NEW YORK, NY | $20,000 | 2026 | ALTRUISTIC |
| THE ISAMU NOGUCHI FOUNDATION AND GARDEN MUSEUM | LONG ISLAND CITY, NY | $20,000 | 2026 | ALTRUISTIC |
| POLICE2PEACE | WASHINGTON, DC | $10,000 | 2026 | ALTRUISTIC |
| WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN | WASHINGTON, DC | $200,000 | 2025 | ALTRUISTIC |
| BORIS LURIE ART FOUNDATION | NEW YORK, NY | $100,000 | 2025 | ALTRUISTIC |
| AMERICAN FRIENDS OF SOROKA MEDICAL CENTER | SCARSDALE, NY | $100,000 | 2025 | ALTRUISTIC |
| PEF ISRAEL ENDOWMENT FUNDS INC | NEW YORK, NY | $40,000 | 2025 | ALTRUISTIC |
| BOWERY ARTS & SCIENCES | NEW YORK, NY | $21,000 | 2025 | ALTRUISTIC |
| POLICE2PEACE | SEDONA, AZ | $20,000 | 2025 | ALTRUISTIC |
| THE FORTUNE SOCIETY | LONG ISLAND CITY, NY | $20,000 | 2025 | ALTRUISTIC |
| HIAS | SILVER SPRING, MD | $20,000 | 2025 | ALTRUISTIC |
| PLANNED PARENTHOOD | NEW YORK, NY | $20,000 | 2025 | ALTRUISTIC |
| THE HALO TRUST USA | WASHINGTON, DC | $20,000 | 2025 | ALTRUISTIC |
| BURN ADVOCATES NETWORK LTD | TEANECK, NJ | $20,000 | 2025 | ALTRUISTIC |
| RUDOLF HERTZLURIE'S LIFELINES | NEW YORK, NY | $10,000 | 2025 | ALTRUISTIC |
| MUSEUM OF JEWISH HERITAGE | NEW YORK, NY | $10,000 | 2025 | ALTRUISTIC |
| GLOBAL SMILE FOUNDATION | NORWOOD, MA | $10,000 | 2025 | ALTRUISTIC |
| HELP USA FUND INC | NEW YORK, NY | $10,000 | 2025 | ALTRUISTIC |
| ESKENAZI MUSEUM OF ART | INDIANAPOLIS, IN | $10,000 | 2025 | ALTRUISTIC |
| THE NEW SCHOOL | NEW YORK, NY | $50,000 | 2024 | ALTRUISTIC |
| AMERICAN FRIENDS OF SOROKA MEDICAL CENTER | SCARSDALE, NY | $50,000 | 2024 | ALTRUISTIC |
| THE FORTUNE SOCIETY | LONG ISLAND CITY, NY | $40,000 | 2024 | ALTRUISTIC |
| PEF ISRAEL ENDOWMENT FUNDS INC | NEW YORK, NY | $40,000 | 2024 | ALTRUISTIC |
| THE NEW FUND FOR CINEMA AND TELEVISION | NEW YORK, NY | $25,000 | 2024 | ALTRUISTIC |
| OPTHALMICEDGE | NEW YORK, NY | $20,000 | 2024 | ALTRUISTIC |
WNET NY PUBLIC MEDIA
$50,000ALTRUISTIC
HELP USA FUND INC
ALTRUISTIC
FRIENDS OF ISRAELI FLYING AID
$40,000ALTRUISTIC
BURN ADVOCATES NETWORK LTD
$30,000ALTRUISTIC
THE SALVATION ARMY
$30,000ALTRUISTIC
UNICEF USA
$30,000ALTRUISTIC
HARVARD ART MUSEUMS
$30,000ALTRUISTIC
PLANNED PARENTHOOD
$20,000ALTRUISTIC
UJA-FEDERATION
$20,000ALTRUISTIC
MOUNT SINAI HEALTH SYSTEM
$20,000ALTRUISTIC
OPHTHALMICEDGE
$20,000ALTRUISTIC
THE ISAMU NOGUCHI FOUNDATION AND GARDEN MUSEUM
$20,000ALTRUISTIC
POLICE2PEACE
$10,000ALTRUISTIC
BORIS LURIE ART FOUNDATION
$100,000ALTRUISTIC
BOWERY ARTS & SCIENCES
$21,000ALTRUISTIC
POLICE2PEACE
$20,000ALTRUISTIC
HIAS
$20,000ALTRUISTIC
PLANNED PARENTHOOD
$20,000ALTRUISTIC
BURN ADVOCATES NETWORK LTD
$20,000ALTRUISTIC
RUDOLF HERTZLURIE'S LIFELINES
$10,000ALTRUISTIC
GLOBAL SMILE FOUNDATION
$10,000ALTRUISTIC
HELP USA FUND INC
$10,000ALTRUISTIC
ESKENAZI MUSEUM OF ART
$10,000ALTRUISTIC
THE NEW SCHOOL
$50,000ALTRUISTIC
THE NEW FUND FOR CINEMA AND TELEVISION
$25,000ALTRUISTIC
OPTHALMICEDGE
$20,000ALTRUISTIC